Chocolate Wolfie's Once Upon A Christmas
by chocolate-moosey
Summary: Chocolate Wolfie's back and better than even whith a Christmas Crossover that will blow you away! Tokyo Mew Mew, Mermaid Melody, dotHack, Lova Hina, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and more! You'll never look at Christmas the same way!
1. Prologue

"**Chocolate Wolfie's Once Upon A Christmas"**

**A Christmas Crossover By Chocolate Wolfie**

_Every Year We Find Ourselves, _

_Caught Of With Things Like Presents, Santa, and Elves, _

_And Putting On A Christmas Show, _

_With Lights That Decorate Your Home,_

_And We Sometimes Don't Have Time To Stop and Sit, _

_And Think, If Only For A Bit,_

_What Christmas Really Is About. _

_Is It About Santa, Red and Stout, _

_Or Giving Presents and Joy to Your Friends,_

_Wishing Christmas Never Ends?_

_Now Put Away Your Wallet and Set Down That Tree,_

_And I Will Give You Christmas Tales Three,_

_Now Sit Down, If You May, _

_And We'll Discover More About This Holliday_


	2. The Hero Within

**Story One:**

**Tokyo Mew Mew:**

**The Hero Within**

_The Thing We Need To Do Every Year,_

_Is To Spread A Little Christmas Cheer,_

_To The Ones We Hold Very Dear,_

_Be They Far, Or Quite Near_

The cold, January hair blew Sakura Momoiya's elegant red hair around her face. Shivering, she pushed it out of the way and continued down the crowded street. Though Christmas and New Year's had quickly come and gone, many were still busy with errands such as returning gifts and spending their New Year's money; pushing their way through the crowd with cold expressions, not minding who got in their way. Keeping the red coat she wore close to herself as much as possible, Sakura held a small shopping list up to her face, blinking as small flecks of snow impaired her sight. It was her first time out of the house in several weeks, as her husband had insisted on forcing their daughter Ichigo and her boyfriend- more so her boyfriend- on completing her daily tasks until they were situated with their new child.

What a blessing it was to have another beautiful baby girl in the world. Ichigo herself had been hard to conceive, and then had been born premature; but as much of a fighter as she was, she would not give in. Her tiny heart continued to pound, and her little lungs continued to breathe. But heartbreak had come for the young couple, wishing for a large family, when the doctor had told them they may never be able to have another child again.

Yet, nearly fourteen years later, there she was, rushing to get all her little duties as a housewife done, so she could return to her darling Ouka who was away from her for the first time since she was born.

"I'm forgetting something..." The woman muttered to herself, drawing two fingers up to her temple to tap at it. With a heavy sigh, Sakura shook her head and continued to walk, "I'll remember it later; I'm just tired..." Grumbled the red-head as she placed her finger in front of the cross-walk button, which responded with a tiny _bleep_!

"You may walk now." Chanted the automated voice coming from a speaker located near the green-illuminated walk sign.

"I'm so tired." Sakura complained as she headed out into the street. Just as she did, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin to raise as she froze in place. As she slowly turned around, she felt something charge at the back of her head. With a flash of purple, she began to fall foreword, pedestrians passing by her as if nothing were happening, ignoring the strange so-called "antics" of this woman disrupting their daily lives.

"Are you okay, Ma'am?"

Sakura blinked several times as she stared into the face of a boy, roughly sixteen. His skin looked rather pale, as if he had not seen the sun for many a-day, and his eyes seemed to reflect that; as dark and gray as deep pools of sadness, brought out by the stunning violet tresses falling over his right eye at an A-line cut. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Sakura remembered that they were standing in the middle of a cross-walk, a chorus of car horns and angry jeers meeting her ears.

"Y-yes." She replied slowly, "I don't know what happened."

"You seemed stunned." The boy- or rather, young man- replied as he helped her to the sidewalk, "And you started to fall.

"Oh... I..." She began, lost for words.

"Come on." Said the boy, still helping her along, "I'll get you something warm to drink."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Groaning, Sakura leaned foreword into the cup of hot coffee and downed a large swig of it. Usually, she wasn't even one to drink a Frappé, but under the given circumstances; she felt like she needed a lot of coffee, no matter how strong and bitter it seemed to her sensitive taste buds.

"You seem troubled." Commented the young man, leaning foreword, "Tell me. What is the matter?"

Sakura sighed and then smiled faintly, "I just had my second baby girl several weeks ago. And the amount of stress its put on me..."

"Oh? A second. I would suppose you would only have one child..." The purple-tressed youth began.

"You flatter me, sir." Sakura said pleasantly, "I'm only thirty-four."

"Really?" His dark orbs widened, "I thought that you were twenty-four or something!"

The red-head let out a soft laugh, like that of a bell, "Now you're _really_ trying to flatter me!" Leaning foreword, close to the boy, she smiled softly, "Tell me what it is you want, ne?"

"Nothing." He replied truthfully, with a shrug as he stood up, picking up a messenger bag that he'd slung over the back of his chair. Sakura watched him go in silence, holding the coffee in both of her hands before she stood and began to follow him at a far.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Hnn?" The Miko stopped dead in her tracks as a cold wind blew through the shrine grounds. Long, emerald tresses fluttered in the wind as she reached her hand up to the sky, a single fleck of while snow falling into her palm, and instantly melting away. "Yuki..." She whispered as she slowly began to walk, scarlet hakama billowing around her legs as her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"What is this sense of foreboding?" The Miko inquired to herself as she stood by a large wall surrounding the shrine and reached within her pocket for some incense and a match; once lighting the incense, she sighed and turned away, pacing across the grounds in slight frustration.

"I beg your pardon, Miko-Sama..." A timid voice came. The girl suddenly became alert and looked to the civilian addressing her. It was a woman in her early to mid thirties, dressed in a red coat, with equally red hair done into a short cut.

"Please, I ask for no more than a san." The Miko replied humbly as she composed herself, shaking off the sudden rush of adrenaline, "And I am willing to answer any questions you may pose, Ma'am."

"Thank you." Sakura replied with a bow, "I was just wondering if you have seen a boy with pale skin, violet hair, and vivid dark eyes?"

"No, I'm sorry. Not that I know of." Replied the Miko, her eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion; that was quite a description...

"I'm sorry to bother you, then-" Sakura bowed in apology, red tresses falling over her face, as she turned to leave, she felt the girl grasp her hand.

"Wait." She began, emerald orbs narrowed in concern, "I sense a disquieting chill in the air... please keep a sharp eye out." Reaching into her kimono, she pulled out what seemed to be a business card, "And do not hesitate to call me if anything strange may happen."

Sakura glanced to the card, made out of paper printed to look like parchment. On it was a small cat holding a bell, next to which was printed "Rina Toin" with a phone number and address printed neatly below. When Sakura looked up to address the girl, she was already headed off to her other shrine duties.

"Ma'am?"

The red-tressed woman jumped and turned around to see the young boy standing behind her, "My goodness! You scared me!" She giggled. The boy looked to her with large dark orbs full of numb surprise and threw his arms around her.

"You came..." He whispered, his voice wavering slightly into her ear, "You came."

"Well, of course I came! I couldn't just forget about you, hun!" Sakura said, mildly surprised as she reached up and patted the youth on his head, "You saved me from falling in the street."

"Thank you..." The boy whispered before they broke the embrace, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes with the palm of a pale hand.

Sakura blinked, concerned, "Do you work here?"

"No." The young man replied, shaking his head as his violet tresses danced about his pale face, "I more or less live here. This is where I sleep. I'll go out into the city to get food every once and a while; and usually somebody will be nice enough to buy me some ramen or give me some money..." He quietly removed about two thousand yen (the equivalent to twenty American dollars) from his pocket, "This is all I have."

Sakura gasped, clapping a single hand over her mouth as dewy brown orbs widened in horror, "And you bought me coffee when you can barely feed yourself!"

"Its no problem, really." Shrugged the young man, placing the money back into his pocket, "I can get around with what food I get; and I keep clothed from the shelter."

"That's terrible!" Sakura shook her head tears flowing from her dewy orbs, her hand still clasped over her mouth "If there's anything I can get you-"

"I'm fine on my own." The boy replied with a shake of his head, waving away the matter with his hand, "All I need is good company, which I barely ever get these days."

"Well if that's what you want, then that's what you get!" Sakura declared as she embraced the boy once more, "If there's anything you need, just come to me."

"I'll be sure to." Replied the boy quietly, gently hugging her back as her put his hand around her head and pressed it to his shoulder.

Once they broke apart, the boy turned on his heel, "I need to get going, now." He said softly.

"Wait!" Sakura cried, "My name is Sakura Momoiya. What's yours? Please tell me."

"Zexion." Said the young man softly, and with that, he departed.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"A-boo!" The redheaded teen hid her face behind two hands, "Where's Ichigo?" She said in a singsong voice, "A-boo!" She squealed, reaching out to tickle the infant. Next to her, her beau, a young boy around eighteen with blonde hair, dressed in a pale blue dress shirt and a pair of white slacks, rolled his light blue eyes.

"Come on, Ookie-Pookie, let's see that smile!" Ichigo teased, placing her face next to her infant sister's. The baby merely reached out and grasped the end of one of her red pigtails, "Ouka-chan! That's a no-no!" Ichigo gasped as she gently unlatched her sister's hand from her hair.

"You do know that she may not be smiling for another few weeks?" Ryou grumbled as Ichigo began to play Peek-a-boo with Ouka again.

"Yes, but I think I may be able to coax it out of her sooner." Ichigo said in her sing-song baby-talk voice. Once more, Ryou rolled his eyes.

"You're probably just going to scare her with that creepy game." He snorted.

"Its not creepy! My parents used to play it with me all the time when I was little!" Ichigo retorted, yet again in her "Baby-talk" voice.

"That would explain a lot." Ryou said airily as Ichigo glared at him.

"Fine, then!" She said, exasperated, and finally out of her sing-song voice, "If you're so smart, why don't _you_ keep her entertained!"

"Wait! I-!" Too late. Ichigo has already scooped her infant sister off of her resting place in her lap and was holding her out to Ryou.

"You haven't even held her once and she's already three weeks old!" Ichigo scolded, "Here, now put out your arms- like that- and hold her head in the crook of your elbow- good."

Ryou blinked with blue eyes down at the babe, that blinked at him in return with her own misty brown ones, he was sitting rather awkwardly, with his knees apart, his arms stiff as rocks, as if he was horrified to death of dropping the child. Ichigo giggled lightly; Ryou glanced up. "What?" She asked.

"I'm sorry. It looks as if you're holding an explosive bomb." Ichigo sniggered. Ryou glared at her, wanting to correct her for her speech, but merely looked back to her little sister.

"Um... hi baby?" He uttered softly; more of a question than a statement.

"Oh, she's in hysterics." Ichigo commented sarcastically.

"AHHH-HHHAAAAA!"

As Ichigo and Ryou jumped, Ouka screwed up her tiny face from the sudden shock and began to howl.

"Now not only are you dating my older daughter, you're trying to take away my baby, too!" Shintaro Momoiya cried, red patches on his dark face.

"_Papa_!" Ichigo snapped, standing up, "I know you don't like me going out with an older boy, but _this_-!"

But it was too late, the brunette man had already crossed the room and snatched his youngest from Ryou, who was more than glad to give her back.

"_Stay away from my daughter_!" Shintaro barked, "-s!" He added defensively.

"Shin-chan!" A feminine voice gasped, "You are absolutely ridiculous!"

Sakura walked into the quaint little living room, draping her red coat over the side of an armchair before reaching out her arms towards her husband, and accepting the red-faced, howling cherub that was her little Ouka.

"Oh, did Papa scare you with all his macho yelling?" Asked the woman as she cuddled the babe close to her breast. Ouka's crying quickly seemed to die away into innocent little sniffles as she stared at her mother in slight confusion.

"It was not macho!" Shintaro snapped in his defense, "And where have you been? Its half past six! You said you'd be home by five-thirty!" Sakura replied by giving him one of her looks that could kill and proceeded to grab him by the ear, "Sa-sakura! What are you! I'm just trying to protect my little girls-!"

Ichigo sighed heavily and closed her eyes as her parents disappeared into the kitchen before standing up and heading towards the stairs, "Come on." She told Ryou lightly. He instantly stood up and proceeded to follow her up the stairs and into the little, pink abode that was her room. As Ichigo plopped down into a small chair made of light-colored wood in front of her computer to log onto her e-mail, Ryou sat down on top of her pink bed and rested his back on the wall.

"No I am not interested in buying a house in Africa!" The teen snapped at her e-mail in a huff, "Stupid spam filter... doesn't even work..."

"Has he been bothering you lately?" Ryou inquired to Ichigo as she proceeded to angrily grumble at her e-mail.

"Huh?" Ichigo snapped out of her trance and glanced over the shoulder, "Nah, he hasn't e-mailed me for about a week."

"Good." Ryou growled. As Ichigo huffed in frustration.

"You're starting to sound like my dad." She said, leaning back into her chair. "But you have a right to be, since Aoyama really is bothering me. I've tried to explain to him about a million times that I just want to be friends, but he seems to think that's not good enough." She drew her legs up to her chin, "He treats me like I'm some sort of prize..."

"Hey, you don't know the true value of something until you loose it." Shrugged the tow head.

"But you've always known my value." Ichigo said softly as she stood up and crossed the room to her bed. Propping her pillow against the wall, she laid her back on it, scooting over as far as she could so that Ryou could lay down next to her.

"How could I not?" He whispered in reply as he kissed her forehead, "You're a very special girl, Ichigo-chan. I've known that since I saw you're face. There's only one of you, and to top that, you are one of the most unique girls in the world. I think he once knew how precious you were; but he became so wrapped up in you that you're not his first priority any more."

"Am I really special?" Ichigo asked as she rested her red head on his chest.

"Of course." He replied once more, stroking her head. Ichigo smiled contently as the two sat in silence. "And Ichigo?"

"Hnn?" Her blissful answer came, in the form of a hum.

"If I ever really, _really_ start to sound like your dad, do us all a favor and _please_ shoot me." Ryou instructed as Ichigo laughed loudly.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ichigo struggled to keep the small, gray cap lined with a pink ribbon on top of her head as she fought the blistery winds on her way down the street. After approaching a large, stone sign that read **ST. EVAN'S ACADEMY FOR GIRLS EST. 1986 **she turned into the grounds of a lavish academy, on which young girls will giggling as they attempted to avoid the howling winds and catch their caps before heading inside. Once Ichigo herself had made it into the main hall with the beautiful floor of pinkish marble with walls decorated with paintings of European landscapes and a large, expensive (she had found that out during one of the several times Pudding had attempted to climb on it) chandelier hanging overhead, she took the time to smooth out her grey skirt and started for homeroom.

Attending the new school had been a lot better than Ichigo had expected. After transferring there to help out with Berry nearly two years prior, she had found it to be a convenient distance from both the Cafe and from her home, as well as (what her mother had pointed out to be) a better curriculum, and the fact she got to attend with all her friends (save for Mint, who had switched back to her previous school as soon as Berry was situated, and Zakuro, who was too old to attend the school in the first place). So, after plenty of begging and pleading for Ryou to pull a few strings, the girls had been rewarded with being able to attend the Academy at a decent tuition.

Ichigo made herself comfortable in the small desk made up of the elegantly polished, cherry wood before removing the supplies listed on the whiteboard at the head of the classroom.

"Ohayo Ichigo-san." Lettuce's voice floated over from one of the neighboring desks.

"Ohayo!" Ichigo replied, "Windy out today, isn't it?"

"Yes." Lettuce nodded, "But I do think the weather will improve, in time."

Ichigo beamed at her friend before sighing mentally, 'She's been here for almost two years and she's still a nervous wreck. I wonder if I'll ever be able to talk to her about boys...'

"Wuahhh! Snow, again!" Somebody commented from nearby the window. Ichigo stood up to get a better view and, sure enough, flakes of the ivory, powdery goodness were elegantly fluttering down towards the earth before the window.

"Its getting a little late in the season for snow..." Another girl remarked, "We barely ever get any snow, anyways..."

"It has been snowing a lot lately." Ichigo whispered softly, '_I wonder why..._'

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Zexion!" Sakura ran as fast as her feet covered in khaki-colored uggs allowed her to move. Her outfit was rather simple; plain bell-bottom jeans and a maroon coat that went down to mid-calf that seemed to flutter behind her almost like a cape. Zexion looked up from the book that he was reading as a smile crept onto his lips. The way her coat was fanning out did seem to cause him to recall a cape… usually worn by a super-hero.

And she was his hero, all right.

"Sakura. Ohayo." Zexion greeted pleasantly as he closed his book and placed it in his messenger bag. She smiled, slowing down before him and accepting his hug with open arms.

"Hey." She grinned, squeezing him tightly before she let go and grasped his hand, "Where to today?"

"Anywhere." The violet-tressed youth shrugged as they began to traipse endlessly across the shrine grounds. After about a quarter of an hour of mindless wandering and light conversation, they had found themselves being seated at an Italian café at the corner of two main roads.

"Its an interesting novel, all right." Nodded Zexion after their waitress left to get their drinks, "Though it was written more for a female audience, I find it oddly intriguing."

"Where did you learn to read English?" The redhead inquired as she ran her hand down the ebony cover of the book entitled Twilight.

"My mom and dad." He shrugged nonchalantly, "I was brought up speaking both English and Japanese."

"Wo-_ow_." Sakura breathed, her dewy brown orbs wide and teeming with interest, "So you're bilingual?"

"More than bilingual." Zexion gave a semi-hollow laugh, "I speak Chinese, French, and German, too."

The woman's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, "That's amazing!" She gasped, "You should meet my daughter Ichigo's friend Zakuro; she's multilingual as well."

At the mention of Ichigo, Zexion's single dark eye visible widened considerably and then narrowed, "Enough about them, tell me about you, Sakura."

"Well…" The woman leaned back in her chair and placed a single hand before her mouth at she pondered the question, "I was married when I was eighteen and I've basically been a housewife ever since… but…"

She trailed off and glanced away. Zexion frowned and reached out to grab her hand, "But what?" He quipped, his dark eyes narrowed with concern.

"I've always wanted to be a writer… for children's books." She admitted sheepishly, using her free hand to brush a lock of red tresses out of her dewy brown orbs.

"Then go for it."

"Nani?" Sakura's head snapped up and Zexion nodded.

"Go for it. There's no one in your way." He explained, his pale face hard. Sakura gave a small laugh.

"I couldn't- its-" She put up her hands before her face and shook them, as well as her head.

"Why let anything hold you back?" Zexion inquired, looking to her with his head cocked to one side; the peppery violet tresses that usually fell over his right spilled to the side and he stared at her with both of his dark orbs. Sakura looked away and Zexion continued, "Why let things get in the way of what you really want to do? Its your life."

The woman bit her lip and glanced back to him, "You're right."

Zexion grinned and nodded.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ichigo's insides were in tight knots as she grasped the doorknob… something was way off… if only she could put her finger on it.

"Tadaima!" The red-tressed girl called as she walked into the house and removed her shoes. When she received no reply, she frowned and went into the kitchen where her mother was sitting at the table with Shintaro's laptop sitting before her on the light-wooded surface. Baby Ouka was snoozing peacefully in her rocker, drifting back and forth slowly but steadily, "Mama, tadaima. I'm home." Ichigo said as she dumped her yellow messenger bag on an empty seat and then went to wash her hands. It was flu season and the girl wasn't taking any chances with a new baby sister in the house.

"Hey Ichigo." Said her mother in a sort reply, not even looking up from the laptop. Ichigo frowned and removed her cap, setting it down on the counter. It wasn't like her mother to be so quiet.

"How was your day?" She inquired to her mother as she switched on the sink.

"Good." Sakura said in a nearly curt way. Ichigo was silent, but her mother didn't say anything else.

"I had a great day." Smiled the young seen as she scrubbed her hands, mentally singing 'happy birthday' in her head, "We did line dancing in PE and you should've seen Pudding! I thought she was going to run out in the middle of the gym and start break-dancing!"

"That's nice." Her mother nodded, her brown eyes clouded over with concentration. She then sighed and closed the laptop, "Ichigo, can you take care of Ouka for a few hours?"

"Yeah, sure." Ichigo frowned, she thought her mother had finished Christmas shopping a while ago, "I was gonna ask if Ryou could come over, but if you're leaving."

"Its fine." Said the red-tressed woman as she pulled on her coat and grabbed her brown purse, slinging it over on shoulder.

"Should we start dinner?" The teen quipped as she dried her hands.

"Um… yeah." Sakura nodded as she stored the laptop under one arm and departed. Ichigo blinked after her mother, confused, and went over to her messenger bag to fetch her cell phone. Once Ryou had been called and invited over, the girl sat down and placed the phone in her lap, running her thumb along the smooth edge. When her baby sister began to stir, the girl stood up and gathered the infant in her arms.

"Do you know what's wrong with Mama, Ouka-chan?" Ichigo inquired to her sister softly. The baby's reply was reaching up and grabbing a fist-full of red hair to stick in her mouth.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Its pretty weird." Said the young teen to her flaxen-tressed beau as they quietly washed dishes.

"I concur." Ryou agreed with a small nod, "What exactly has been going on the past week?"

"Its like she's home less and less." Frowned Ichigo as she set a plate in the dishwasher, "She's be sitting at the table on my dad's laptop before I came home and run off the second I did for the first few days… yesterday she met me halfway down the street to hand me Ouka-chan."

"And how is your father taking this?" Ryou inquired.

"Uhh…" Ichigo said slowly glancing over to the window that Shintaro was plastered up against, waterfalls of tears falling from his fluid eyes.

"Sakura…" He squeaked.

"Yeah…" Said the red-head slowly, turning back to Ryou, "But other than that, don't you think its strange?"

"Very." Nodded the blonde as his girlfriend closed the dishwasher with her foot, "Don't do that, you'll break it."

"Thanks 'Kaa-san'." Ichigo sniffed sarcastically.

"KAA-SAN?! WHERE?!" Shintaro screamed, looking around with cheerful eyes.

Ichigo and Ryou exchanged wry glances before heading upstairs.

"Do you think I should follow her?" Ichigo asked as they came into her room and plopped down onto her bed. Ryou shrugged.

"Might as well, I doubt you'll get anything out of her otherwise." He sighed, his azure orbs coruscating with concern, "You said that she hasn't been speaking to you much…?"

"Hardly at all." The teen frowned, shaking her head in a melancholy way. Ryou sighed and put an arm around his girlfriend, cradling her to his chest.

"I'll stay here and look after Ouka for you." He stated calmly, "You go see what your mother is up to."

Ichigo nodded before they briefly kissed.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ichigo kept a safe distance away from her mother the next afternoon, pulling her favorite sheepskin coat around her tightly to protect herself from the chill. Ichigo had suspected that it would be quite a task trying to track her mother in the vast Tokyo streets; but along with her heightened senses as a Mew Mew and the fact that her mother's bright red head stuck out in the dark-haired crowds like a sore thumb, it was easier than expected.

Ichigo tracked her mother to a small park situated around a Shinto shrine and promptly hid behind a tree. In order to listen to the conversation, the red-tressed youth called foreword her powers and produced two ebony triangles on the top of her head. The cat ears perked foreword in an alert way as she listened in.

"-very good, but the wording here is a bit confusing." A male voice said. Ichigo blanched. It was obviously a male, but he sounded so _young_. She craned her head to get a better look at the pale youth as he scanned the screen of her mother's laptop, "You may want to do some re-wording around this part."

"Okay, I'll try that." Sakura nodded in a chipper way, "Thank you so much, Zexion. You don't know how much this means to me."

'_Zexion?! What kinda name is that?_' Ichigo leaned foreword, hoping to hear more, but she never did.

"Are you related to that woman?" A soft voice asked as a gentle hand was placed on Ichigo's shoulder. The girl's brown orbs widened and she gasped and whirled around, attempting to hide her cat ears, which was a hard task after she had just been startled. But after several seconds, Ichigo realized that the person was not fazed by her abnormal appendages. The miko with the long emerald tresses had a perfectly calm look on her face as she stared at Ichigo.

"Um, yeah. She's my mom." Nodded the girl as she forced her ears down with a deep breath.

"So you've been noticing her strange behavioral patterns as well, I assume." The miko said as she stood next to Ichigo, placing a single hand on her chin.

"Yeah… she's been acting really… out of it… lately." The teen struggled for words as the miko closed her emerald orbs and nodded.

"That is the price you get for befriending a hanyou." The miko explained.

"H-hanyou?!" Gasped the red-tressed girl, her brown orbs wide as she looked back to her mother and the boy. She _knew_ something was off! Her cat genes must have been picking up the scent of hanyou on her mother. "You mean that boy is-?"

"Half-demon? Yes." Nodded the miko calmly, her expression then grew grave, "I do not know what he wants from your mother, but I do know that his presence is not welcome on these holy grounds." She then scowled, her orbs turning into hard emeralds, "The spirits of the sea howl in rejection of his presence." The miko placed a light hand on Ichigo's shoulder once more, "And so, Mew Ichigo. I ask you to guard your mother with your life."

"Have I not always?" The red-tressed girl smiled softly at the miko, "Well, you obviously know me from the paparazzi; what's your name."

"Rina." The girl replied, returning Ichigo's warm smile. She suddenly grew pale, her emerald orbs widening as her ebony pupils became small. At the same time, Ichigo's body was racked with a horrific chill and she jumped to face her mother. Zexion and the elder woman were embracing, and the pale youth had a single hand cupped around her head. To the untrained eye, this was a simple gesture of pure affection, but to Ichigo and Rina, it appeared that Zexion was calling forth a substance made of pure light from Sakura's body and absorbing it into his right hand.

"MAMA!" Ichigo screamed, all her stealthy thoughts lost, "MEW MEW STRAWBERRY--- METAMORPHOSIS!"

In a whirl of pink and white light, Mew Ichigo sprinted forth, her black tail wagging behind her. The girl was clothed in a pink corset and puffed pink skirt, each lined with dark red velvet that matched the color of her knee-length boots and short gloves.

"GET OFF OF HER!" Screamed the pink-tressed cat-girl as she grabbed at the dark red bow tied 'round her tail, within her gloved hand materialized the heart-shaped bell tipped with a silvery tiara and wings that was the Strawberry Bell. Zexion's dark eyes widened and he leapt out of the pink mew's path, carrying Sakura with him. Wasting no time, Mew Ichigo pivoted and leapt from the ground.

"What do you want from me?!" The violet-tressed boy sneered angrily, his dark orbs narrowed in anger.

"MY MOTHER!" Mew Ichigo pulled back her arm and swung the Strawberry Bell before it collided with Zexion's head. He took the blow full on and growled angrily, pulling Sakura close, "LET HER GO!"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Zexion screamed in reply as the wind howled and Mew Ichigo was knocked backwards by a cold blast of snow. The cat-girl flipped in mid air and landed accordingly, charging Zexion again.

"I UNDERSTAND FULL WELL YOU LITTE BASTARD!" Screamed Ichigo, her now pink eyes wide with anger and hate. Her heart palpitated rapidly in her chest as her hands tightened around the Strawberry Bell. She reared it back and threw the weapon like a boomerang. Zexion's eyes grew wide as she shielded Sakura and the pink bell hit him in the back- hard. It returned to Ichigo, whom continued to sprint towards Zexion, but was once more hit was a blast of freezing snow. The girl's eyes narrowed as she attempted to see through it, but it seemed that the harder she tried, the thicker the snow became. The cold seemed to seep into her body, attempting to freeze her veins…

"GREEN PEARL VOICE!" A deep voice cried from beyond. In an instant, Ichigo was pushed from the snow and warmth flooded her body as she spun around to face her new ally.

Rina stood, tall and proud; her green tresses seemed to have grown much longer and wavier and darkened several shades. The girl was dressed in a sea foam-colored halter dress, which was cut from her mid-left thigh to reveal her entire left leg. Dark green ruffles around her neck matched the ones around her shoulders that signaled the start of her long, slowing gloves. In her hand was clutched a pale blue karaoke microphone with a small green peal fitted into the center of the oval-shaped top.

"Ready, Mew Ichigo?" The Idol-Rina inquired into her microphone, resting a hand on her hip. The pink-tressed cat girl grinned and nodded.

"Sure thing!" Ichigo struck a catty pose before readying her Strawberry Bell and Rina began to sing into the microphone.

"_Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete tooi misaki wo mezashiteta_

_Yoake mae kikoeta MERODI_

_Sore wa totemo natsukashii uta_

_Higashi no sora e to, habataku toritachi_

_Saa, takarajima ni nukeru chikamichi _

_Nanatsu no umi no rakuen_

_Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaerutame inochi ga mata umareru_

_Nanatsu no kuni no MERODIA_

_Daremo ga itsuka wa koko wo tabidatsu hi ga kitemo_

_Watashi wa wasurenai!_"

As Rina sang, the power and emotion of her deep voice, mixed with the power of the Green Pearl seemed to create a strong rippling effect on the voice waves. Though it did not seem to bother Ichigo, or even awaken Sakura, whom had appeared to go limp during the ordeal, it caused Zexion to suddenly land on the ground, clutching at his chest as if the music had given him a horrible migraine. When Rina finished her song, Ichigo took that as the 'go' signal and rose up the Strawberry Bell. Around her feet, a power seemed to stir as an array of beautiful colors spiraled around her, "RIBBON, STRAWBERRY CHECK!"

Zexion was lightly pushed over by the vast amount of bubbles and pastel lights that the bell produced, and ceased to writhe in pain as the golden light he'd been stealing from Sakura was pulled from his body and returned to the woman accordingly.

Once the attack was finished, Mew Ichigo lowered the Strawberry Bell and ran to her mother's side.

"MAMA!" She cried, dropping to her knees as Rina ran up behind her, still in her Idol form.

"NO!" Zexion screamed, and the hanyou promptly threw himself over the woman's body, "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE MY MOTHER!"

Ichigo bit her lower lip as she felt anger well up inside of her once more, "SHE'S NOT YOUR MOTHER! AND EVEN ID SHE WAS, WHY WOULD YOU BE STEALING HER ENERGY?! SHE HAS SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR, YOU STUPID JERK! DO YOU KNOW SHE HAS A BABY AT HOME?! DO YOU KNOW SHE HAS A LOVING FAMILY?! WHY WERE YOU TRYING TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HER?!"

"It was what she wanted!" Zexion retorted, his dark orbs wide.

Ichigo gasped, lost for words, and slapped him. Zexion's face turned from the force as Ichigo let out a sob, followed by streams of tears, "IT WAS WHAT SHE, **_WANTED_**?! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW HOW KIND SHE IS! TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT KINDNESS IS JUST-!" The pink-tressed girl raised her hand to slap him again, yet Rina caught it in a gloved hand.

"Mew Ichigo." She gave the girl a soft, yet firm glance that reminded the Mew Mew chillingly of Zakuro before turning to Zexion, "Why would you do such a thing?" Rina inquired in her hauntingly bold voice. The violet-tressed youth looked away.

"She was the only one…" He grumbled, "To ever show me that she cared. She was so kind… but I felt her family was abusing her. I encouraged her to do more things for herself… and she wanted to repay me. She had already done so much for me that it was the only way-"

He winced as Mew Ichigo reached out and grabbed him by the collar. Her eyes were narrowed in anger, warm tears rolling down her red face, and black cat ears were forced flat on her head, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE BACK! SHE'D GIVEN YOU SO MUCH!"

"Ichigo is right." Said Rina softly, "Its not a perfectly balanced world. Sometimes you must give and the only reward is the feeling that you did well by giving. And sometimes you must take and the only reward is that you know that the person is happy from giving."

"Then why did the world take my parents away?!" Zexion sobbed as he held Sakura, "Why?! HUH? Can you tell me THAT?"

"No." Rina answered, closing her emerald eyes.

Zexion's own dark orbs widened considerably and his mouth hung open. He glanced down at the redheaded woman before setting her lightly on the pavement before him. Ichigo screamed for her mother and began to attempt to awaken her as Rina watched Zexion with her diamond-hard eyes, her expression unreadable.

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Ichigo cried pleasantly as she reached over to give both Berry and Mint a large hug.

"Merry Christmas Ichigo!" The blonde replied cheerfully as she handed a small box to her friend. The red-tressed girl smiled and opened the pink box, removing a pink knick-knack of a cat.

"Its adorable!" Squealed Ichigo, her brown eyes wide, "Oh! Wait! I got something for you guys, too!"

"Don't you want to see what I got you?" Mint quipped as Ichigo ran over to her family Christmas Tree and rummaged around for Mint and Berry's gifts.

"You got me a gift?" Asked the girl, raising an eyebrow as she handed the packages to her friends.

"Wuaaaah! Kawaii!" Berry squealed as she rubbed the soft white scarf against her face. Mint scoffed and looked at her own scarf, this one blue.

"Honestly, do you think I'd wear this compared to my Italian silk one?" She inquired, but either way; Ichigo knew she's be wearing it the first day of work after the holidays.

Mint shoved a box of chocolate into Ichigo's hands as the redhead thanked her; the doorbell than rang and Ichigo cried, "I'll get it! Its probably more guests."

The girl plodded over to the door and opened it up. Nobody was there. Just as she was about to close the door, however, Ichigo spotted a small package at her feet. A tiny card was attached, '_I'm Sorry_' it read in hastily scrawled letters. A warm smile spread on the girl's face as she opened the gift.

Within it was a gift card to a Bookstore worth two thousand yens.

"Merry Christmas, Zexion." The girl whispered softly, and closed the door


	3. Giving To Receive

**Story Two:**

**.Hack:**

**Giving To Receive**

_Though They Were Both Short On Cash,_

_He Sold His Watch To By A Sash, _

_For Her Pretty Flaxen Hair,_

_But She Cut and Sold It, To The Contraire_

_To Buy A Beautiful New Band_

_For The Watch No Longer On His Hand_

Shugo watched the chibi-ized avatar of Kite sprint through the snowy landscape. Mashing on the X-button, whilst hitting the directional pad on the wireless controller, he caused the red-clothed avatar to go into a large array of spinning moves, taking out countless small snow monsters with his twin daggers. The new Flash 3 operating system was flawless and allowed smoother game play as well as enhanced the beautiful graphics; it was like Shugo was actually there, feeling the cold wind howl onto his squinted eyes and he fought with no mercy against the red-eyed beasts.

After he did so, he moved through a large skull head frosted with snow and began his expedition into the dungeon. The raven-tressed youth raised his goggles up off of his head to check the hastily written instructions through the dungeon Ouka- or Mitsune as her real name was- had given him the last time they went out for coffee. Though it was technically cheating, he didn't have the time to wonder aimlessly; it was a busy time of year and the object of interest was growing closer every room he passed.

Ten minutes later, Shugo entered the heart of the dungeon and walked straight up to the large treasure chest in the center of the room. He set down his controller momentarily to greedily rub his hands together before retrieving the object; a new set of blades. Shugo quickly used a fairy to transport him out of the cave, and portaled back to Mac-Anu where Mireille was waiting at her not-so-secret hideout.

As always, the rabbit-like rare hunter was going over her inventory with Zeffie. As soon as the flaxen-tressed AI spotted her "Big Brother" with icy azure eyes, she raced towards him with open arms. Shugo sighed and gave her a soft pat on the head. He had always thought that the AI would leave him and his friends as soon as she was reunited with Aura, her mother; but it seemed that they "Wouldn't get rid of her that easily" as Zeffie has told Rena when she announced that she was staying. Though somewhat annoying, Shugo couldn't help but love her, and she always did come in handy when it came to breaking a few rules every now and then…

"Hey, kiddo." Shugo greeted the AI before playfully ruffling her blonde hair, "Hey, Mireille; I got those blades you were talking about, care to give them a once-over."

"Sure." Nodded the girl in white garb. She held out a hand and impatiently snapped as Sugo handed her the blades. They were a bit logner than the ones he currently held with jagged edges and jewel-encrusted wooden grips. Mireille inspected them closely before closing her pink eyes and sighing sadly, "Not as good as I would've thought, but they're a higher level than the ones you have."

Shugo looked to the blades secured at his hips. They were short, pointed, and had golden grips laced with rubies. "I think I'll sell the new ones… Rena gave me these."

Mereille shrugged, "Suit yourself." The girl reached out and plucked up a rubber chiken. What purpose a rubber chicken would have in The World, I do not know.

Shugo sat down next to Mireille and sighed, removing the green cap upon his head and looked to Mireille, "Is Rena over at your place?"

"Nope, not yet." The pink-tressed girl said as she studied the rubber chicken closely. Since Mireille was so young (actually only five years old- Shugo had discovered this when the girl had given him her phone number about a year ago during a crisis in The World), she required a babysitter, and the girl had begged and begged her mother to let Rena take care of her; so every now and then, Shugo's "Little Sister" (when they were really ferternal twins) went over to take care of the child genious when her mother was out. Shugo sighed and looked to Mireille.

"What do you think she would like for Christmas?" He inquired. Shugo had been trying to figure out what he should buy his beloved sister for the holliday for a good two weeks at that point, and still, nothing at occurred to him.

"A Dolphie?" Mireille quipped in suggestion.

"That's what _you_ want, Mireille-chan." Shugo grumbled as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head.

"You don't have to buy her anything." The once-silent Zeffie finally spoke as she ratted through Mireille's pile of various "rare" things, "She probably won't get you anything. That Ganguro probably wasted all her money on make-up."

"Hey, Zeph. Rena isn't a Ganguro, okay." Shugo attempted to explain to the flaxen-tressed child for what seemed to be (and probably was) the thousanth time.

"So is she Lolita?" Zephie retorted. Shugo semi-facefaulted to one side as Mireille snorted jovially.

"The problem is," Began Shugo sheepishly, "She's a girl, and I don't know what to get her. I usually get her a gift-card but…" He sighed softly, "I wanted to get her something special this year."

"Why not ask your girlfriend?" Zeffie suggested. Shugo blanced and neary dropped his controller.

"Ouka- K- Mitsune and I-! We're not! She's not-!" Shugo struggled for words as he fidgeted around. Zeffie smirked triumphantly; how the little AI loved to push others' buttons…

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As soon as she heard the doorbell ring, Mireille bid googbye to Shugo and Zeffie and logged out, resuming her identity as Mirei Chibia. Just as the five-year old was taking off her VA goggles, Rena walked into the room. Standing next to the girl with the dark brown tresses was Usagi Chibia, known as Mistral in her gaming days. The woman with the golden tresses secured into twin buns on either side of her head floated over to Mirei.

"Chibi-Usa." She cooed, using a nickname that Mirei had been rewarded after being dubbed a clone of her mother, "I want you to be good for Rena-chan, ne?"

"Hai, Mama." Chibi-Usa nodded, her auburn eyes twinkling with understanding.

"I'll be back around four-thirty." Usagi turned to Rena, "If anything happens, just give me a call on my cell."

"Okay!" The teen smiled and Usagi turned to kiss Chibi-Usa on the cheek before daparting.

"So, Mereill- Chiba-Usa." Rena quickly corrected herself as she crossed the room and sat down on Chibi-Usa's bed. The girl with the bizarre pink tresses pulled into twin cone buns walked over to the bed and crawled up on Rena's lap, "What do you want to do today?"

"Eto…" The five-year-old pondered softly, "I was thinking…" The girl trailed off and looked back to Rena, "Onee-chan, what do you want for Christmas?"

The girl blinked, surprised by the younger girl's question, "Well, I dunno. I asked my mom for stuff already, but I didn't want to ask for too much. My parents are split up, you see, so-"

"But if you had to ask for _anything_, what would it be?" The pink-tressed girl pressed.

"Um… a date with Orlando Bloom? To sing on stage with Hikki?" Rena giggled and ran a hand through her dark brown hair, Chibi-Usa glared at her, wanting a serious answer, "Oh, I dunno. Probably this kawaii pair of shoes I saw that go along with the dress I bought for the Christmas dance."

"What do they look like?" Chibi-Usa quipped, Rena smiled.

"Well, they're pink with rinestone cords that wrap around my legs and high-heeled, the insides are a pretty, darker shade of pink made out of silk." She explained, "Here, I can get online and show you a picture."

Merei beamed at Rena as she toggled the mouse and the screen jumped to life. Clicking on the internet icon, Rena brought up the home page- Google and typed in the name of the department store where she had seen them. After a bit of searching, she pulled up the picture of the shoes.

"But look how expensive they are!" Rena then pointed to the price of the shoes listed next to a small box, which asked for the quantity needed. Ten thousand yens (It was almost the equivilant to one-hundred American dollars).

"Wo-_ow_." Said the child, shaking her head at the price, "Can I see what your dress looks like, Nee-chan?"

Rena smiled warmly at Chibi-Usa and ruffled her hair before doing another short search and pulling up a picture of the dress. It was a pale pink color, the same as the shoes, and strapless with gathered fabric at the bust. The front of the dress stopped just above the knees and went into an inverted v-cut, allowing the inside of the back (which trailed to the ancles) to be seen, which was a dark red color.

"You're right, they do match!" The rabbit-like child commented. Now that she had the link for the shoes, all she had to do was get rid of Rena…

"Nee-chan… its lunch time…" The girl moaned, placing her head on the fifteen-year-old's shoulder and looking to her with large, auburn orbs full of pleading.

"I catch your drift." Rena nodded, "What do you want to eat?"

"Mac N' Cheese?" The girl grinned, the dark-tressed teen beamed in reply.

"Just what I was thinkin'. Be right back." As soon as Rena had left the room, Chibi-Usa leapt onto the computer and opened the link with the shoes on it, and quickly copied it. Pulling up her e-mail, she adressed a message to Shugo.

**To: Shugo**

**From: Mereille **

**Shugo-**

**Nyaaaa! Rena-chan came over and showed me the link with the shoes on it:D You may now worship me. But lemme tell you, these shoes aren't cheap…**

**-Mereille**

**(Link Attached)**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Shugo!" The ebony tressed youth's head snapped to the place where he had been called Ouka- or Mitsune as her real name was, called Kitsune by her friends- was sitting at a small booth with a pleasant look on her face. It was slightly shocking how different from her online counterpart Kitsune was; they held a mild physical resemblance with her short-cut dusty brown hair and height, but personality-wise, Kitsune was relatively calmer and more fun-loving… yet her love of pranks did show through as Ouka, most notably the time she'd let Shugo think she was a dog… the ironic thing was that Kitsune's nick-name meant "Fox" and Ouka was supposedly a wolf.

"Hey Kitsune." Shugo greeted the elder girl, noting with lightly pink-tinged cheeks the v-cut cranberry-colored sweater she'd opted to wear; the fifteen-year-old reluctantly plopped down across from her as Kitsune rested her chin on laced fingers, a grin pulling at her lips.

"You like?" She quipped. Shugo didn't even have to ask what. She'd caught him staring. Again.

The boy nodded, still blushing. Kitsune chuckled jovially and reached out to caress his face with a caliced hand.

"Good. I wore it just for you." Kitsune beamed, her eyes closed and cheerful as they always were. She laughed loudly at the wide-eyed expression on Shugo's beet-red face, "Awe… you're so horny, its adorable."

"I'm not-!" Shugo began to stand up, placing his hands on the table.

"You're a boy, you're fifteen; you're a walking sack of hormones and dirty thoughts." Kitsune reached out and patted her hands, cocking her head to one side as Shugo calmed and sat down, running a hand through his short tresses, "Now what did you want to see me about?"

"Its about Rena." Admitted Shugo, blinking his beetle-black eyes nervously as he removed a piece of folded-paper from his pocket and handed it to Kitsune.

"Ora?" She received the paper and opened it up, her pale brown eyes scanning the paper, "Shoes? Don't tell me you put on Rena's clothes and a blonde wig and danced around singing that song 'Shoes' all day, and these happen to be 'Three-Hundred Effin' Dollars'?"

"NO!" Said the fifteen-year old, blushing once more at the pop-culture reference. Next thing he knew, Kitsune would be chatting about unicorns going on an adventure, "I want to buy them for Rena's Christmas gift!"

"Eto… ten-thousand yen? That's a bit pricey…" Kitsune frowned, scratching her chin; "You aren't asking me for money, are you?"

"No." Shugo shook his head so that his ebony tresses trembled, "I wanted to know if you knew a way I could buy these by Christmas-" Kitsune opened her mouth, "-Without betting on horse races." Shugo frowned.

"Welllll, I can't help 'ya there." Kitsune frowned; betting on horse races was her number one way of making money…, "But, have you ever considered selling something for the money?"

"Ora?" Shugo glanced up into Kitsune's pale eyes as she stared at him intently.

"A few things here and there that you don't really need, 'ya know?" She began, "Clean out your closet, Shugo. Just don't stay in there."

The boy rolled his dark eyes at Kitsune, "Bitch."

"Awe, I love you, too, Shugo!" She beamed in reply.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Rena glanced out of the window of her classroom, running a hand through her dark brown tresses as she blinked violet eyes in worry. The girl fidgeted her legs and twisted her hands in circles around themselves, as her teacher seemed to blather her on into an early grave. After what seemed like an eternity, but really only five minutes, the bell rang and Rena stood to leave; as she was walking out the door, she felt someone poke her lightly on the shoulder.

"Rena-chan? Daijoubu?" The androgynous teen with the abnormally pale hair inquired as they walked in step. Rena smiled faintly at Momiji Sohma as the two walked in step; he was a very kind young boy and seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense when something was the matter with one of his classmates.

"Well, it's about my brother." She admitted sheepishly, brushing dark brown tresses behind one ear before they fell back into place several seconds later, "More specifically his Christmas gift… first of all, I'm running short on money… second of all, I have no clue what to get him!"

"Candy!" Momiji squealed, his face alight with cheer, "Everyone loves Christmas candy!"

"Actually, Momiji-kun, I wanted to get him something a bit… special." Said the girl as they exited the building.

"Oh?" The towhead cocked his head to one side, "Um… what is he interested in?"

"The World." Rena explained with a small nod.

"OH! I have an account on that game!" Squealed the rabbit-like youth as he hopped on one foot in a bout of energy, "Maybe you can get him some cool accessory! I saw a new controller headset package for sale at Game Luvverzz this weekend! Blue Tooth™ Wireless technology able to be played up to fifty feet away from the console; he can play The World while in bed! The some goes for the headset with lightweight technology and a thin screen made with a new plasma material that isn't as harmful on the eyes with HD quality! It only hooks up to the new Flash 3 system, though."

Rena blinked, about to ask where Momiji had learned all that; but knowing him, he'd probably read the description in the store until he'd memorized it, "I dunno… it sounds a tad… pricey."

"Yeah." Frowned the frosted-pineapple tressed boy, "Twenty thousand yens." This was the same as two hundred American dollars.

"Dang!" Rena gasped, her violet eyes wide, "You used to be able to buy two PS2's for that price!"

"That was all the way back in '06! Its 2015 now!" Giggled the boy with a small grin, "And what're you talking about PS2's for? You could get a PS3 for that price nowadays!"

"I suppose…" Rena mused softly, "But where am I gonna get the money for that?"

"You could always do some closet-cleaning." Momiji shrugged, "Get rid of some old clothes and stuff you don't need… that'd give you quite a bit of money."

Rena frowned and rocked awkwardly from her right foot to her left, "I guess…" She admitted, "But I could never get that much money just from my old stuff!"

"Hmm, just try, Rena-chan." The two came to a halt at the bus stop, where Momiji would get on and Rena would walk the remainder of the way. Momiji placed his hands on her shoulders, "I'm sure you'll find a way."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Bleh!" Shugo winced and tossed the corn-chip scented sock over his shoulder and began to rat through his closet once more, "Who would want any of my old crap anyway?!" He came across many strange things, including his dad's ancient, barely functioning Nintendo Wii and an equally ancient Final Fantasy XII; who would want any of that old crap?! Sure, the Final Fantasy XII graphics were equal to that of The World and the Wii was relatively fun, but after Square Enix had learned to stock its past Final Fantasies better, it was worth even less as the old PS2 model and the Wii was powerless to its third successor the Yuu behind the Mii and the Uss.

"I don't have anything that's worth that much that I can sell!" Shugo spat, throwing various anime DVDs and videogames over his shoulder. "What the hell is a Super Nintendo?!" He screamed at a massive cartage before throwing it onto his bed and giving up. "There's nothing…" He grumbled, and stood, finally waltzing over to his computer… where the new Flash 3 version of his Altimit OS was laying. A frown graced Shugo's face as he reached out and brushed the warm system with his hand.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Ewwe!" Rena's hand flicked away and old gym sock with a particularly nasty scent to it and proceeded to dig through one of the storage bins in her neatly organized closet, "Who would want to buy my old junk, anyway?" Rena had come across many things, including a pair of her mom's old Ugg boots and a Utada Hikaru CD. Who would want either of those? Obviously, Hikki was talented beyond almost any singer and Rena worshiped the ground she walked on, but CD players weren't very common that day and age and nobody would be interested in that. The Ugg boots were awesome, by all standards, but considering their age and the new Gothic Lolita rage, they were nothing but a speak of tan in a sea of black.

"I don't have anything worth twenty thousand yens that I could possibly sell!" Rena sighed exasperatedly, tossing various old clothing articles and toys over her shoulder, "What the heck is a Video Cassette?!" She cried at a large, black box before tossing it onto her futon and throwing in the flag. "There's nothing…" She sighed dejectedly before standing up. As she did, something soft brushed her face. It was her dress for the Christmas dance. A frown graced her placid features as she reached out and stroked the soft pink fabric.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Are you sure you wanna do this, buddy? I mean, the Flash 3 is state-of-the-art!" The pimply computer nerd working at the Game Luvverzz store exclaimed as Shugo winced.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna trade it in for the Flash 2." The raven-tressed youth nodded. The pimply nerd sighed.

"Your funeral, buddy." He shrugged, and handed Shugo the money, as well as the older system packaged in a pale yellow box. The fifteen-year-old thanked him and started towards the clothing store.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Are you sure, hun? I mean, this dress was a complete steal!" The faux blonde cashier at the clothing store gasped. Rena sighed sadly.

"Yeah, I'll come back and get a new dress another time." She nodded mournfully. The cashier gave a tiny sigh.

"Well, okay." The blonde cashier shrugged and placed the money in Rena's hand. The girl thanked the cashier and placed the money in the safety of her purse before heading towards the Game Luvverzz.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Chibi-Usa squeaked cheerfully as she walked into Shugo's apartment, accompanied by Kitsune.

"Merry Christmas." Kitsune beamed cheerfully as she accepted a hug from Rena.

"Hi! How _are_ you?" Rena asked her friends as she released Kitsune and gave Chibi-Usa a quick hug.

"Great! Ouka-Nee-San and me brought our laptops so that we can all play together! Do you have your all set up?" Chibi-Usa quipped, holding out the sleek silver computer topped with her headset and controller.

"I'm Kitsune in real life, Mirei." Kitsune explained. Chibi-Usa made a face.

"And in real life they call me Chibi-Usa." She scowled. Kitsune giggled and patted the girl on her pink head.

"Now where is that horny devil you call Shugo?" Kitsune asked, glancing around, this was accompanied by a racy comment to which Chibi-Usa blinked in confusion and Rena shrieked out in embarrassment.

"OUKA!" Rena screamed, pulling at her dark tresses, in the shock of the moment, she had forgotten to call her by Kitsune, "HE'S MY **BROTHER**! DON'T SAY THAT INFRONT OF **ME**!"

"I don't get it." Chibi-Usa frowned; blinking her auburn orbs in confusion several more times; she then inquired about Kitsune's previous statement.

"GAH!" Rena turned bright red, "NOW YOU HAVE DIRTIED MIREI'S MIND! YOU FEIND!"

"Dirtied it with what?" Shugo inquired as he walked into the room, dressed in a green hoodie and a pair of gray sweatpants.

"Oh, Shugo!" Kitsune beamed, plodding over to the teenager and draping herself over him, "We were just talking about you!"

"Am I missing something?" Asked Shugo suspiciously as Rena, still bright red, pursed her lips and refused to talk.

"Nothing." Kitsune hissed into his ear, her light brown eyes misted with emotion, "I was just mentioning how you were preparing for my arrival."

"GAHHHHH!" Rena screamed again, slamming her hands over her ears, "I'M NOT LISTENING! LALALALA!"

"I still don't get it." Chibi-Usa frowned, and then smirked, "Its something dirty, isn't it?"

"Uhh…" Shugo blushed as Kitsune giggled, "What were you talking about?"

"Don't pay attention to them." Smiled the girl with the dusty-brunette tresses.

"O-kay…" Shugo said slowly, slipping out of Kitsune's arms, "We should get online; Hotaru and Zeffie should be waiting for us. I want to give Zeffie her gift; I got her this cool set of bracelets at a special event a couple of weeks ago- oh! That reminds me!" The teen's eyes widened and he dashed back into his room, coming out with a gift wrapped in shimmering pink paper, "This is for you, Rena."

The girl smiled warmly and nodded before picking up her own gift, this one wrapped in red, "And I got this for you."

The twins stared at the gift in the other's arm before hastily switching and peeling open their gifts. Rena's face dimmed as she spotted the shoes box and slowly opened it, just as Shugo's beaming smile fizzled away to see the new controller-headset combo.

"Rena…" Shugo began slowly, "This… this only works for the Flash 3 version of the OS."

"You have that version don't you?" Rena looked to him with wondering eyes.

"I- I used to." Shugo frowned, "I… I actually traded it in for a Flash 2 so I could buy your shoes to go along with your dress."

"Onii-chan…" Rena began, "I… Well, I returned the dress so that I could buy you the controller and headset."

The two stood and looked down at their now-useless gifts with dim eyes and sheer frowns.

"Awe… there, there." Kitsune soothed as she reached out to pat their shoulders in unison, "It isn't too bad, now is it? Rena, you can always get a new dress to match the shoes that was even cheaper than the first, and probably even prettier! And Shugo, with all the Christmas and New Years money you get this year, you can always save up for the Flash 3 model again, ne?"

"Yeah, its just…" Shugo looked down at the present with a wry expression, "Ironic; isn't it?"

"So?" Chibi-Usa shrugged, "It just goes to prove that you two love each other enough to give up some of your most prized possessions."

"I guess…" Rena frowned, and then looked to her 'elder brother' her violet eyes twinkling softly as a tiny smile found its way to her lips, "Thanks… Onii-chan. This is really special to me."

Shugo returned the smile, his own beetle-black orbs coruscating with the same sort of sad cheer, "This is special to me, too, Rena. Thanks."

"AWE!" Cried the dusty-tressed eighteen-year-old as she reached out and pulled the twins into a giant hug; Chibi-Usa smiled and wrapped her spread around Shugo and Rena's waists for good measure, "Isn't this just PRICELESS?" A wicked smirk formed on her face, "Oh, and Shugo… my Christmas gift will make up for all of this…"

"What do you…?" The boy began, but he was cut short as Kitsune draped her body over his shoulders, her soft breasts pressing suggestively against his back. The boy blanched and froze in place as Rena scowled and growled his name warningly.

"I got us reservations at a love hotel, Koishii!" Kitsune squealed, pink breaking out on her cheeks as she rubbed her cheek against Shugo's.

"Kistuuuuuuuuune!" Shugo wailed in embarrassment, "Don't tease me like that!!!"

"What, you think I'm teasing?" Smirked the young woman as she promptly whipped out a formal reservation. Shugo's face remained normal; caught between blushing furiously and becoming as white as a ghost.

After Rena hit the raven-tressed youth upside the head about several dozen times, the four friends exchanged the remainder of their Christmas gifts. Shugo supplied Kitsune with a collar-like choker and a bright blush and a Hello Kitty backpack for Chibi-Usa; Rena gave the young girl a gift-card to the book store and something she wouldn't let either Shugo or Chibi-Usa see for Kitsune (it turned out to be a Kingdom Hearts yaoi doushinji); the small girl known as Mirielle in the online world gave Rena a book on American desserts and Shugo an Inuyasha art-book, Kitsune's gift was the seventh Harry Potter book, which she had neglected to read since its debut in 2008. Kitsune then exchanged her Christmas gift with Rena that, once again, Shugo was not allowed to see (more yaoi doushinji) and rewarded Chibi-Usa with a Tokyo Mew Mew A La Mode manga.

"I can't believe you really made reservations…" Shugo grumbled to Kitsune as he slipped on his headset. Moments later, he was logged in, and Ouka the werewolf's avatar was already smirking at him.

"You ARE coming with me, right?" Pressed the pepper-tressed wolf seductively as she tickled Shugo's chin. The avatar with the azure tresses blushed furiously.

"Over my dead body!" The chibi avatar of BlackRose cried as Rena stomped her foot irately. The avatar violently tossed her neck as Shugo heard Rena actually crack it beside him; the raven-tressed boy gave an involuntary shudder.

"Nyaahaaa!" Mirielle giggled as she spun around in circles, her rabbit-eared hat flopping, "Look! It's snowing! Isn't this R-A-R-E?"

The three other players stopped momentarily in their bickering to observe the graphics of the white snow slowly fluttering from the sky.

"Oh! Minnah-san! Over here!" A thickly accented voice cried, and the small group turned to see Hotaru, clutching her pale green Grunty to her chest, "Gomen nasai… it early where Hotaru live. Only seven in morning!"

"Hey Hotaru-chan!" Rena beamed, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Rena-chan!" The foreigner beamed at her friends and bowed respectively, "And all of you, too."

"It is a Merry Christmas." Shugo beamed around at his friends as he looked down to see Zeffie clutching to his arm, the girl pouting up at him.

"Why did you have to bring the lolita?" The towhead inquired sourly.

"YOU TOLD HER I WAS LOLITA?!" Screamed Rena at the top of her lungs, garnet orbs flashing with fire.

"NO! I- I- NOOOOO! REEEEEEEEENAAAAAAAAA!"


End file.
